As President Bush begins a tour through south and central Asia, the violent border of Afghanistan and Pakistan continues to be a haven for tribal militants possibly connected to the Taliban and al Qaeda. With pressure from the U.S. to rout the terrorists and continuing violence, Presidents Karzai and Musharraf both blame the other to deflect criticism and to force action.

Exclusive: Pakistan's President Answers Critics of His Terror Response

Musharraf Says Pakistan Is Doing All It Can in War on Terror. (ABC News)

President Says He's Using 'Ample Capital' to 'Spread Freedom' In an Exclusive, Wide-Ranging Interview. (ABC News)

Afghanistan Slams Musharraf Comments Before Bush Trip

Afghan's foreign minister on Tuesday slammed comments by Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, who dismissed Afghan intelligence on the whereabouts of Islamist militants as "lies" influenced by Indian propaganda. (Reuters)

Pakistan Forces Hit Militants on Afghan Border

Pakistani helicopter gunships and ground forces attacked a militant hideout near the Afghan border on Wednesday killing up to 30 people, according to a senior official in the North Waziristan tribal region. (Reuters)

Analysis: A Display of Pakistani Solidarity in the U.S.-Jihadist War

The raid against a militant training camp in Pakistan, which authorities suspect was used to teach fighters how to engage coalition troops in Afghanistan, demonstrates not only that Pakistan can be an ally in the U.S. war on terrorism, but that there is no shortage of foreign militants willing to take on the West. (Strategic Forecasting)

JORDAN SUICIDE ATTACK THWARTED

Police Foil Al-Qaida Terror Plot in Jordan

Jordanian police have foiled a planned suicide bombing by al-Qaida in the kingdom and arrested two Iraqi militants and a Libyan, state-run media said. (AP)

A bloody prison siege in Afghanistan ended on Wednesday after all 1,300 prisoners involved in a riot that broke out at the weekend moved to a new block under police control, the government said. (Reuters)

JORDAN PRISON RIOTS

Jordanian Security Official Says All Hostages Released, Prison Riot Over

Inmates at a Jordanian prison released the last of about a half dozen police officers they had taken hostage Wednesday, ending a riot that broke out over the fate of two convicted al Qaeda killers, an official said. (AP)

Police Seized in Jordan Jail Riot

A number of policemen have been taken hostage after riots broke out in several Jordanian prisons where Islamist militants are being held. (BBC)

GUANTANAMO

Guantanamo Force-Feeding Tactics Are Called Torture

Lawyers for a captive at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, say their client was tortured to coerce him into abandoning a lengthy hunger strike, and they contend that tactics used to force-feed detainees explicitly violate a new federal law that bars cruel or degrading treatment of people in U.S. custody. (Washington Post)

UKRAINE

Ukraine Claims Deported Uzbeks Were Members of Al Qaeda Linked Terror Group

Ukraine's Security Service said Wednesday that 10 Uzbek asylum seekers deported recently were members of an al Qaeda linked terror group, a claim that appeared aimed at blunting international criticism over the refugees' forceful return. (AP)

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

Terror Jury Hears Informer's Urging

An FBI informer was heard repeatedly encouraging a terrorism suspect to attend an al-Qaeda training camp in secretly recorded conversations read to jurors Tuesday. The conversations raised questions about whether Hamid Hayat, 23, intended to train as a terrorist and return to the United States to carry out attacks, as federal prosecutors claim. (AP)

Lawsuit Alleges Illegal Wiretaps by NSA

Civil rights attorneys have sued the National Security Agency, claiming it illegally wiretapped conversations between the leaders of an Islamic charity that had been accused of aiding Muslim militants and two of its lawyers. (AP)

IRAQ: VIOLENCE CONTINUES, SADDAM TRIAL RESUMES

Baghdad Bombs Kill 60

A surge of bombings in Baghdad on Tuesday killed at least 60 people amid persistent sectarian clashes stirred by last week's attack on a major Shiite shrine. (Chicago Tribune)

Interim Government Knew of Security Infiltrations at Samarra Shrine Before Bombing

The Iraqi interim government knew about infiltrations of the security team protecting the Imam Ali al Hadi mausoleum two weeks before it was bombed, according to security reports obtained by Asharq al Awsat newspaper. The paper says secret security information issued by the state's ministry of national security affairs confirms this information. Ibrahim al Jaafari's government knew about the infiltrations but did not take any steps based on the information, according to the paper. The report says the government knew since last year of terrorists' movements in Samarra and of their intention to bomb the mausoleum. (Asharq al Awsat)

Shiites Told: Leave Home or Be Killed

Expulsion of Shiites from Sunni-dominated towns is on the rise amid rampant sectarian violence. (Washington Post)

In the face of the "unquenchable inferno of civil war", as one commentator describes it, Iraqi newspapers blame Muslim extremists, foreign conspirators, and the US-led occupation for the recent wave of sectarian violence in the country. (BBC)

Editorial: Iraq on the Brink

Iraq's elected leaders can still save their country from civil war. They must now prove that they want to. (NY Times)

Saddam Asks: 'Where Is the Crime?'

Saddam Hussein told judges Wednesday that he ordered the trials of Shiites who eventually were executed in the 1980s and said their lands should be confiscated, but he insisted that those actions were not criminal. (AP)

Until Iran starts to behave more like India, we should all learn to live with a nuclear policy that says yes to India and no to Iran. (Washington Post)

An Algerian Initiative in the Sahara?

The Sahara conflict needs an Algerian initiative to alleviate the risks of escalation, the least of which is resuming the validity of the cease-fire. Algeria can materialize a third speech under the motto of preserving security, stability, and peace. It can contribute to avoid the flare-up of the situation. (Al Hayat)

It's Time for Regional Leaders to Stop Playing The Blame Game over Darfur

For over three years, in the western Sudanese province of Darfur, government-backed militias have been terrorizing, killing and raping civilians. (The Daily Star)

The Insider Daily Investigative Report (DIR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to investigative news, including international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DIR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman and Ellen Gustafson of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.